The Australian Christmas Carol Project – Carols in the Sun

Carols in the Sun is an exciting new album and music book, written and composed by Alison Davies and Heather Price. Written from a modern Australian perspective, the album was launched on the 1st November 2015 at Adamstown Uniting Church in Newcastle NSW, to a full house of excited children and adults.

“There has been SUCH a buzz since the launch of the book, with so many people telling us that this has been needed for so long. It’s really very exciting”.

The collection includes congregational songs written for children, young people and adults. The album includes both original recordings and instrumental backing tracks for each song. A companion music and activity resource book for musicians, teachers and families is also available at Heather’s online store and comes complete with lyrics, notated sheet music and activity resources.

Music Videos for all songs on the album are now available to purchase on Vimeo. This resource has been developed to make it easy for groups to sing along to, and join in the actions.

About the Project

The two friends began The Australian Christmas Carol Project, to produce a collection of contemporary Christmas songs suitable for their children growing up in Australia. After a particularly hectic Christmas filled with many material distractions, the pair noted how far from The Christmas Story their experiences of Christmas had become. They set about composing a collection of songs that could encompass the underlying themes of The Christmas Story, such as love, hope, family, struggle and hardship, while also trying to show how relevant these themes continue to be in Australian society. They also endeavoured to create songs that could show their children that Christmas songs didn’t need to be all about snow and sleighs, but also sun and the beach! Together they wrote the lyrics to the collection and Heather, daughter of opera singer Jennifer Barnes and Jazz musician Rod Barnes, composed the music.

Having been involved in leading many church services and music teams, the pair knew how important it was to have well-notated music, so the companion music and activity resource book was created for musicians, schools, churches and families. Each song includes ideas for craft activities, song actions or discussion points to further explore the song’s message within a Sunday School, Messy Church, or general Christmas program.

Heather is available to perform these songs at churches, Sunday schools, Christmas events, conferences and festivals. Please contact her through this website with details about the event, and Heather will do her best to be there. There is a standard performance fee for events less than three hours and a day fee.

Visit Heather’s online store to listen to the songs and purchase the album and music book. The album is also available on iTunes.

All music videos for Carols in the Sun are now available to purchase on Vimeo – sing along with Heather and join in the actions!

 Heather with actions to Gifts from the Stable

Carols in the Sun launch concert

Photos from the 'Carols in the Sun' launch concert

  • Heather playing piano at the Carols in the Sun launch concert

  • Children's craft at the Carols in the Sun launch concert